Organic, blotchy dyeing

[Stef1966]

Hi folks,

I wonder if any of you know how to get dying results like this. I'm thinking there is some airbrushing for this technique but I'm at a loss as to how exactly one can get results like on this picture.

Thanks

[Stef1966]

I think I figured it out. I'm pretty sure the leather has been sanded down to show the lighter colored leather under the dye. Thoughts?

[PastorBob]

53 minutes ago, Stef1966 said:

I think I figured it out. I'm pretty sure the leather has been sanded down to show the lighter colored leather under the dye. Thoughts?

That sounds like it would work.  Also, maybe sponged on?

[chuck123wapati]

I'm thinking maybe just antique wiped off real quick on the high spots. 

[Doc Reaper]

That pattern looks as though it was cased until it was soggy then crinkled, dried, antiqued, and sealed. 

Now I have to mess around until I duplicate what’s in front of us

[Chakotay]

5 hours ago, Stef1966 said:

I think I figured it out. I'm pretty sure the leather has been sanded down to show the lighter colored leather under the dye. Thoughts?

 

3 hours ago, chuck123wapati said:

I'm thinking maybe just antique wiped off real quick on the high spots. 

Agreed it's a combination of techniques. Surface was tooled, dyed, antiqued, and scrubbed/sanded.

 

[Handstitched]

4 hours ago, Chakotay said:

Agreed it's a combination of techniques. Surface was tooled, dyed, antiqued, and scrubbed/sanded

Can't help but think that an air brush was also used in the process, especially the  darker section near the bone?  Just a thought . 

HS

[Stef1966]

I agree with all your assessments. I think it's a combination of multiple techniques. I can't wait to try and duplicate that beautiful work. I'm no artist but I love to emulate those that are.

[Wild Bill46]

Nicely done no matter the method !    But I'm gonna speculate as well.

Maybe just a real quick pass over with sealer, then cloth wiped alcohol dye, and excess quickly removed, simple  ?

 

[Stef1966]

Well, I was able to find the creator's Facebook Page. It's a dude in Argentina. I don;'t think he makes knives anymore as his last post was in December 2018. Here is the description of what he used for the sheath. I'm afraid it's so far from what we are used to that we'll have to come up with a different way to get similar results. See for yourselves.

From his Facebook page:

The sheath is leather jacket repurposed by hand made to measure with an appliqué of a deer tip.

Interesting. 

[Stef1966]

Well folks,

I think I landed on a surefire method to duplicate this kind of result. Funny I didn't think about the solution more quickly since I have used something similar in my old miniature painting days.

I will use very thin washes to get that result. That will assure I get dye where I want it. I can also achieve very gradual fading. To show you what I mean, go to the link below. The technique is very well demonstrated by Hongbo Zhang, a Chinese artist that works on leather. Probably not something that will be easy to master but I think the results will be very fine indeed.

 

[Stef1966]

I am ordering a knife like the one below. Handmade by a guy in Czechoslovakia. (Tomas Rucker)

This will be something special. That guy is an artist and I want to do his knife justice by making a sheath using the technique I mentioned on my prior post. Carpe Diem!